#ai and #edtech are all about changing everything in schools into #data
Microsoft sells data-driven metrics to school administrators and governments, so that they can show "concrete" numbers going up.
To teachers they sell the idea that if enough data is gathered about the students, AI will magically be able to suggest how to teach better.
Making education all about exam scores is something we've seen in the past, but this is taking it a step further.
1/
Anything that cannot be quantified by data is at-best ignored or at-worst actively worked against.
How well do students interact with each other in class?
❌Not quantifiable, ignored.
How confident do students feel in their abilities to think and create? ❌Unquantifiable, irrelevant.
How well can students write without using AI tools?
❌Can't turn that into data, sorry
2/
To this end, Microsoft is commissioning papers to launder theses ideas through more neutral-sounding "Center for Digital Education"
In which they recommend that:
"To become AI-ready and move toward data-driven education, schools need "to have a mature data environment, because AI relies on data," says Greg DeYoung, a cloud solution architect director at Microsoft."
3/
PACES Vancouver